


Once in a Lifetime

by Geronimoandbemagnificent



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: 2009 Phan, 2009x2015, 2009x2015 phan, DAN AND PHIL - Freeform, Dan Howell - Freeform, Established Relationship, Fluff, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Married Couple, Phan - Freeform, Phandom - Freeform, Phanfiction, Phil Lester - Freeform, Skype, YouTube, fluffy fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-25
Updated: 2015-06-25
Packaged: 2018-04-06 01:18:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4202436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geronimoandbemagnificent/pseuds/Geronimoandbemagnificent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Phil smiled, a quick turn of the corners of his lips, his eyes twinkling slightly. A simple motion that made Dan weak in the knees.</p><p>“One video, just to try it out. Test the waters. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to make another video, I promise,” Phil held his pinky up for Dan to see. Dan barked out a laugh, doing the same.</p><p>“Fine,” Dan said, rolling his eyes with a smile.</p><p>Or, a 2009x2015 fluffy fic about Dan's first video.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Once in a Lifetime

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tahliaisnotonfire](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tahliaisnotonfire/gifts).



> MAJOR THANKS to [Burning_Up_A_Sun](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Burning_Up_A_Sun) for being such an awesome beta.
> 
> please know that this is all for fun, and I'm in no way stating that this ever happened. I just like writing :D
> 
> (Also, if you're wondering if I DID in fact name this fic after a One Direction song, then yes.[I did.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPdaxcwhEag))

Dan dashed into the house and up the stairs as soon as his mum pulled the car into the driveway. He pushed open his bedroom door and jumped onto his bed. He sat cross-legged in front of his computer. He took out his phone to text Phil.

 **To Phil:** U up? xx

Dan grinned as he saw his phone light up with a message from Phil immediately after.

 **To Dan:** Just woke up now :D Skype? xx

 **To Phil:** Def. I have smth 2 shoooow yoooou :) xx

 **To Dan:** Do u now? xx

Dan looked at his reflection on the laptop screen, grimacing at the spaces in his fringe. He fixed his hair quickly before opening the Skype desktop application. After the agonizing wait for Skype to load, and the extra ten minute pain in the neck buffering screen showing the connecting call, Dan was greeted by a man with a very, _very_ pretty face, and a Northern lilt to his British accent.

“Hey, Bear! How was school?” Phil asked, cocking his head to the side. Dan shrugged.

“I mean, I’m glad it’s Friday. School was like any other year 12 day, or was your 12th form too far away for you to remember?” Dan teased, dragging his fingers through his fringe. Phil rolled his eyes.

“I’m not that old,” he retorted, crossing his arms over his chest in mock annoyance.

“You’re _twenty-two_. You’re practically a dinosaur!” He scoffed, giggling. Phil looked at the ceiling, shaking his head, unable to keep the fond smile off of his face.

“Whatever. You said you had something to show me?” Phil raised an eyebrow, a shadow of a smirk playing across his face, flipping Dan’s heart.

“Not like that, you spoon,” Dan’s cheeks flared up. “Remember when I said that I’d make the YouTube video?” Phil raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, why?” Phil raised an eyebrow. In the months leading up to October, he’d pleaded with Dan to film his own YouTube video, but Dan had a thousand excuses.

(“ _Phil, I’m telling you, I don’t know,” Dan fell back onto his pillow with a thump, sighing. He covered his face. “What if I’m not good enough? I’ll just make a fool of myself,”_

_“Dan, look at me,” Phil said firmly, not wanting to shut Dan down on the conversation again like he had done previously. “Look. At. Me. I can’t talk to your legs, I don’t speak chicken.” he teased Dan, leaning close to the webcam._

_Dan flipped him the bird, sitting up. “What?” he pouted into the camera. Phil smiled, a quick turn of the corners of his lips, his eyes twinkling slightly. A simple motion that made Dan weak in the knees._

_“One video, just to try it out. Test the waters. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to make another video, I promise,” Phil held his pinky up for Dan to see. Dan barked out a laugh, doing the same._

_“Fine,” Dan said, rolling his eyes with a smile._ )

“You made it?” Phil’s eyes crinkled as he smiled. Dan nodded, his neck flushing pink.

“Well, I-I-I edited it, and I don’t know if it’s any good,” Dan rubbed the back of his neck. He averted his gaze from Phil’s to his white duvet, picking at a loose thread in one of the seams.

“That’s _amazing_ , Bear,” Phil exclaimed.

“Would you…would you watch it? And, you know, tell me if it’s crap? Please?” Dan looked up at the camera through his eyelashes. Phil nodded.

“Of course I will! And it won’t be crap.” Phil chuckled as Dan scrambled to attach the MP4 file onto an email.

In the wait for the email to arrive (god damn slow internet connection), the conversation gradually changed from Dan’s first YouTube video to a heated conversation about whether starting a Pokemon game with a fire-type Pokemon was a more effective strategy than starting the journey with a grass-type.

“But when you start off with a fire type pokemon, you have to build up your team more, because fire types never last far in battle…” Dan’s argument tapered off, his stomach turning in anxiety as he heard the tri-tone ring of Phil’s phone through his speakers, alerting Phil of a new email. Dan pulled the pillow out from behind him, clutching it close to his body.

“Do you want me to watch it it on Skype, or do you want me to watch it later?” Phil asked. Dan bit his lip, fidgeting under Phil’s glance. His shoulders tensed up, and he tightened his grip on the pillow, his knuckles turning white.

“Hey, Bear. Everything’s okay. I don’t have to watch it on here if that’s not what you want. I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do. There’s no pressure at all,” Phil bit back a chuckle at how similar this talk was to a talk about sex. Dan relaxed, his shoulders sagging from their fixed stature.

“Could you...would you watch it on here?” Dan mumbled, leaning his chin onto the pillow. Phil nodded and opened up the file onto his computer.

“Are you ready?” Phil asked. Dan nodded.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,”

The video began with Dan slowly creeping into frame.

_“Hi,” the Dan on the video saluted after a long ten seconds._

_“So, my name is ‘Dan’,” he framed a rectangle at the bottom of the screen. “Nice to meet you.”_

Phil beamed to his computer. Dan was going to do just fine. (Even if he _was_ a little biased.)

_“I mean, I’ve kind of always wanted to be someone who posts YouTube videos, but I guess I’ve never really had the confidence or the motivation? (Says the person with tissue paper all over their face) But that was until some really good friends I’ve made recently persuaded me to give it a shot. So I am!”_

Phil bit his lip, biting back a smile. His heart jerked as he glanced at the Skype screen, seeing Dan stare at Phil’s expression. He winked, a silent _you’re doing fine_ before turning back to the video, making Dan smile and blush.

Phil snickered at Dan’s hilarious version of entertaining, and his side note about a bruise he _‘mysteriously woke up with one morning’_.

“You totally didn’t _wake up_ with a bruise on your arm.” Phil teased, his mind flicking back to the day where one of their Skype calls grew heated, and Dan bumped his arm into his bedside table in a scramble to get the bottle of lube.

“Shut up,” Dan said, his face bright red.

_“So yeah, if you’d like to subscribe, I will love you forever, and I will see you soon!” Dan smirked and pointed at the camera before turning off the video._

“So? How was it?” Dan whispered, and Phil was glad he had headphones on, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to hear Dan at all.

“It’s great!” Phil smiled fondly. “And the editing is amazing!”

“You really like it?” Dan asked. “You’re not just saying that, right? Because you can tell me if it sucks.”

“It’s wonderful, Bear. You should upload it,” Phil said.

“What, really?”

“Yeah, I would totally be your first subscriber.” Phil said, holding up his hands in a heart to the camera.

“And I will love you forever,” Dan said, doing the same.

 _Oh my God. Did I just?_ Dan froze, before he covered his mouth with his hands, his eyes opened wide.

“Oh my God, I-I didn’t, I’m--”

“You love me?” Phil whispered.

“Y-yeah, I know it’s early, and we only started dating in June, but I’m _so_ \--” Dan covered his face with his pillow.

“Dan, I love you too.” Phil said, his cheekbones turning pink. Dan peeked out from the top of the pillow.

“You-you do?” Dan asked. Phil nodded.

“I do. I love you _‘Dan’_ ,” Phil smirked, framing the name at the bottom of the screen like Dan did in his video.

“Oh my _God_ I take it back, I actually hate you,” Dan laughed, covering his face once more.

~~~~~

“Oh, I love how it recommended Dan’s video at the end. Hold on, I have to look at this,” Phil was filming a video reacting (mostly cringing) to his old videos, and he was glad to see Dan’s crop up in the cringe-y late 2000’s mix of terribly edited YouTube videos. He leaned his head to the side, waiting for YouTube’s autoplay to roll over to _HELLO INTERNET._

“Oh, oh it’s happening,” Phil chuckled, seeing Dan’s painfully slow entrance on camera. A fond smile spread across his face as he watched. Suddenly, it was October 9th, 2009 all over again: He was 22, Dan was 19, and Phil was so so proud of Dan for filming this. It was like he was watching it for the first time.

_“Hi.”_

Phil cackled, his eyes glinting with the same look he held back then, the same amount of love he felt when Dan said _I love you_ for the first time, if not even more.

He paused the video mid-salute as his laughter died down, staring at the screen entranced for a moment. Phil remembered his first thought about Dan’s YouTube career, and smiled.

“Sorry, guys,” He switched back to his on-screen persona once more. “I’m not gonna watch it all. I just wanted to see that bit.”

Seven years later, Dan had four million subscribers on his main channel, a DJ position on Radio 1, and a gaming channel with Phil. Phil glanced down at the golden wedding band on his ring finger. All of it, a truly once in a lifetime opportunity.

 _Yeah,_ he thought. _Dan’s doing pretty well._

 

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of Phil's reaction to the first 15 seconds of Dan's HELLO INTERNET. Watch the amazing video [here!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPa2HqBvtjc). 
> 
> Come say hi on [tumblr,](https://maggieisnotacat.tumblr.com) [instagram,](https://instagram.com/maguirebenton/) and [twitter!](https://twitter.com/maguirebenton)


End file.
